::: Satellite Discoveres- Eye in the Sky :::

::: Wilkins Ice Shelf Hanging On to Land by a Thread

According to news from the European Space Agency, the Wilkins Ice Shelf is “hanging by its last thread” to the  Antarctic Peninsula The researchers are studying satellite images that show continuing disintegration of the shelf and a fracture in the ice bridge connecting the shelf to land. The bridge helps stabilize the ice shelf, and its collapse could hasten the break-up of the shelf.

Surprising to scientists at the European agency and other research centers is the fact that the break-up is occurring in the Antarctic winter. One news headline read: “Even the Antarctic Winter Cannot Protect Wilkins Ice.” In addition, these first-ever recorded winter break-ups are different from earlier events this year. Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center noted that the pieces are moving out as large bergs and not as a divided mixture of ice.

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::: Scientists Surprised by Midwinter Collapse of Massive Ice Shelf

From July 12, 2008:

Even the depths of winter are proving unable to halt the climate change-induced collapse of an Antarctic ice shelf.

When the Wilkins shelf began a runaway disintegration at the end of last summer, scientists thought it unlikely the collapse would continue through the pole's coldest months.

But satellite images show losses growing in recent days, so that at last sight, only a thin and fractured ice bridge held the bulk of the giant shelf in place. Its loss would put the rest of the 14,500- square-kilometre ice shelf at risk, the European Space Agency said.

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::: New Satellite to Shed Light on Earth's Warming

"BELTSVILLE, Md. — NASA plans to launch a new satellite next year that will help scientists fill in a gap in their understanding of global warming: the role of clouds and airborne particles.

The satellite Glory, targeted for launch next June, will give scientists a much better tool to measure particles than any satellite so far. The particles, known as aerosols, are bits of things such as dust and smog.

"Undoubtedly, greenhouse gases cause the biggest climatic effect. But the uncertainty in the aerosol effect is the biggest uncertainty in climate at the present," said Michael Mishchenko, the Glory project scientist at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies."

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::: Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses

A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started February 28.

It was the edge of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.

Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.

"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

"The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple. … That gets to be a runaway situation."

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::: Satellite image reveals new crater in Australia

"Next time you’re virtually roaming Google Earth, make sure you take a close look at any unusual landforms.

Geologist Arthur Hickman did just that, and is now the proud parent of the Hickman Crater, a meteorite crater in the Hamersley Ranges.

Dr Hickman, from the Geological Survey of Western Australia, was using Google Earth to look for iron ore when he noticed an unusually circular structure.

He sent a Google Earth picture of the structure to his colleague Dr Andrew Glickson at the Australian National University, who later visited the area and confirmed that Dr Hickman had found a particularly well preserved meteorite crater.

“Our best estimate at the moment is that the crater is 10,000 to 100,000 years old,” said Dr Hickman. "

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::: Radical New Lab Fights Disease using Satellites

"Jan. 16, 2008: A group of atmospheric research scientists at NASA's National Space Science and Technology Center felt a little like they were in a foreign country when they first met with University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Public Health representatives to discuss an unusual partnership.

"When we first got together, it was as if we were speaking entirely different languages," says NASA's Dale Quattrochi.

But very soon both parties began to realize how NASA satellite data could translate into vital public health information.

"We started seeing how it was really a great fit. It was wonderful. The lights clicked on!" Quattrochi said.

In the past 50 years, satellites have revolutionized weather forecasting and communications, so why not human health?

The scientists from UAB and NASA realized that rocket science could be focused down to the level of microbiology and public health and yield huge advances in both. That "ah-ha" moment sparked idea after idea about ways to combat public health problems with satellite data.

One of their best ideas was to teach public health students, the researchers and medical personnel of the future, to harness the power of satellite imagery to study and fight modern-day disease. This idea led UAB to create a remote sensing lab – in fact the first U.S. dedicated remote sensing lab for medical and public health use – to do just that.

Students at the lab take "cross-training" courses with NASA/NSSTC scientists such as Dr. Dale Quattrochi, Dr. Jeff Luvall, Dr. Douglas Rickman, Dr. Mohammad Al-Hamdan, Dr. William Crosson, and Mr. Maurice Estes as guest lecturers and invited experts. Many of the NASA/NSSTC scientists have been appointed as adjunct professors at the UAB School of Public Health. And the innovative research performed from the lab is cutting edge.

"This lab and the studies it supports will help both our own generation and future generations," says NSSTC's Jeff Luvall. "This is a turning point in public health. Who knows where it will lead?"

Studies sponsored by the lab have already led to critical research in fighting malaria. Infrared imagery from satellites is helping scientists locate warm standing water – fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes. Then the problem areas can be treated effectively and precisely, stopping the spread of malaria. Other researchers at the lab are using satellite imagery to correlate cases of West Nile virus with nearness to tire dumps -- another favorite breeding ground for the virus-carrying mosquito.

Remote sensing has even proven valuable in tracking environmental influences on childhood asthma. Satellite data are revealing pollution levels and other environmental factors where the children live to find out whether these factors might be triggering asthma attacks. Children can then be given asthma therapy to protect them from the effects.

Another study is seeking links between the environment and cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. UAB has been working on a large study called REGARDS, short for Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke. The study, funded by the National Institute of Health, sampled over 30,000 people across the U.S. with in-home surveys which included taking their blood pressure and blood samples and administering a detailed health questionnaire. The survey focused mostly on African-Americans because that group has been shown to have a higher risk of contracting the conditions the study examined – cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and stroke – to name a few.

"Both UAB and NASA want to understand, using NASA satellite data on air quality, heat indexes, temperature, humidity, and other environmental elements, how the environment is influencing the diseases and conditions targeted by REGARDS," explains Quattrochi. "This study's findings could help health officials with environmental exposure and health recommendations."

Many other studies are planned or in progress, including investigations about how water affects dental health and about the correlations between lead, mercury, and pesticides with health problems in mothers and babies overseas.

Just imagine how thrilled a designer of one of the first satellites from 50 years ago would be to learn that satellites in space are now combating health problems and saving lives.

That's good news in any language."

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